


The Long Road Back

by Blink_Blue



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 3x15, Episode Related, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23762917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blink_Blue/pseuds/Blink_Blue
Summary: A 3x15 Buddie coda.“He’s sound asleep,” Buck whispers, peeking into Christopher’s bedroom.“Well, it’s six in the morning, Buck.” Eddie leans over the other man to catch sight of his son. Chris sleeps curled around his blanket in his superman pajamas, safe and sound. Eddie grins softly, despite the ache in his bones, the shivering that won’t stop, and the strong desire to simply pass out where he stands, leaning against Buck.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 395





	The Long Road Back

“He’s sound asleep,” Buck whispers, peeking into Christopher’s bedroom.

“Well, it’s six in the morning, Buck.” Eddie leans over the other man to catch sight of his son. Chris sleeps curled around his blanket in his superman pajamas, safe and sound. Eddie grins softly, despite the ache in his bones, the shivering that won’t stop, and the strong desire to simply pass out where he stands, leaning against Buck.

“Still think you should have stayed at the hospital for observation. At least for a little while,” Buck says quietly, shutting Chris’s bedroom door until it’s just barely cracked.

“It’s a few scrapes and bruises, that’s all.”

“And a mild case of hypothermia.”

“And a mild case of hypothermia,” Eddie agrees. “Nothin’ a hot shower can’t fix.” And that’s all he wants to do. He wants to wash the dirt and grime and anxiety off of him and sleep for a full twenty-four hours.

“You know, that was some dumb shit you pulled tonight,” Buck drawls, following him to his room.

“Coming from you?” Eddie chuckles.

But Buck’s not laughing. “Cutting your line like that? We almost lost you. We thought—they thought we did lose you.”

“Yeah,” Eddie says quietly. He sighs and drops down onto his bed. He couldn’t care less about caking mud on the sheets. “For a moment, I almost thought I lost me too.”

Buck slowly walks over and sits down next to him. The bed shifts under his weight and the other man looks up to face him. Eddie’s surprised to see tears in his eyes. “What the hell would I have told Christopher?” Buck’s voice cracks and Eddie suddenly feels like an asshole.

He keeps almost not making it back. And cutting it closer every time.

Their arms come up at the same time to wrap around each other. Eddie sighs softly and closes his eyes when the familiar smell of _Buck_ mixed with rainwater and dirt invades his senses.

“I made it back,” he says softly. “I made it back.”

Last time he was too late. Something had broken between him and Shannon that couldn’t be fixed. Even after they reunited, and they both loved their son so much, it was broken beyond repair. Because he was too late.

He never wants to be late again.

“Come on, Eddie,” Buck gently pulls at his arms and starts to stand, pulling them both to their feet. “Let’s get you cleaned up and into bed. You’re about to pass out from either cold or exhaustion.”

“Wait, Buck. Wait—” Eddie stutters. There’s so much that he wants to say but the words are getting all mixed up in his tired brain. Maybe he also hit his head while he was down there. “There’s—there’s something I gotta say to you, Buck.” 

Buck freezes and watches him carefully. “Okay,” he says slowly. “What is it?”

“Buck,” Eddie swallows and takes a deep breath. He stares into the other man’s blue eyes and maybe he’s still riding a residual adrenaline high, or maybe he’s just in love, because he says, “You are one of the most important people in my life. I trust you, I trust my _son_ with you, and—and more than that, I don’t think I’ve ever had that before. I love you.”

Buck grins softly. “I love you too, Eds.”

“No, no you don’t get it,” Eddie sighs and shakes his head. He’s probably not making any sense. “When I was with Shannon, I loved her and I loved our son and our family, but… a part of me didn’t want to be there. I was gone and I wasn’t… _fully_ invested, and I never really understood why. Maybe I never wanted to admit it to myself. But with you, it’s different.”

Buck’s eyes widen ever so slightly. Eddie tells himself there’s no turning back now. His hands are gripping Buck’s arms and he squeezes him tight. He needs to know, he’s here, he’s _home_ , and he knows without a doubt that it wouldn’t be home without Buck.

“What I’m trying to say is… I want to be here. I want to be _with_ you… here.”

Buck slowly raises a brow. “Um… Eddie, you know how sometimes the guys at work joke that I’m a little slow?” He winces and says carefully, “you mean to say, what I _think_ you’re trying to say, right?”

Eddie stares at him for a moment and blinks.

“I don’t want to be wrong about this!” Buck says quickly. “Because I’ve been wrong before and it would be really embarrassing if—”

Eddie cuts him off with a kiss. It’s messy and their faces are covered in dirt, sweat, and grime but neither of them care. Because they’ve waited too damn long for this. And they’ve been idiots for too damn long, that they weren’t doing this the whole damn time.

When they finally part for air, Eddie’s looking and feeling a bit dazed.

“Finally,” Buck whispers. A small grin pulls at his lips. “Shower?”

“Yeah,” Eddie nods. Relief has him grinning like an idiot and running on fumes. “Shower.”

There’s nowhere else in the world he’d rather be right now.

**Author's Note:**

> [x](http://winters-blue-children.tumblr.com)


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